Harry Potter: Life of a Ninja
by Casey W
Summary: Raised as a ninja in the hidden land of the elemental nations, Harry Potter returns to Britain as Hari Toukou Nara, ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves.
1. Chapter 1

"With all due respect, Dumbledore-dono, this is a very... unusual arrangement you are proposing." Hiruzen Sarutobi, third Hokage of Konohagakure – 'the village hidden in the leaves' – told his guest.

It had been a difficult year for Konoha and the immediate future did not look much better. Rumblings of a coming war could be felt throughout the elemental nations. And while Konoha stood proud as one of the five great ninja villages, at the least an equal against their strongest adversaries of Iwagakure and Kumogakure, Hiruzen knew from experience nothing was gained from war. Youthful ninja seeking recognition on the battlefield would find it accompanied by hardship, misery and the loss of their most precious people. These were the thoughts drawing him ever closer to his fated retirement one way or the other.

The strange and cheerful visitor knew nothing of this though. His thoughts remained on the boy of only one year old that he had brought to the hidden leaf. In truth, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore was unusually proud of himself for his current scheme. His young temporary ward was fated for great things as well as, sadly, a tragic end. This is what brought him to the elemental nations and these 'ninja', these men and women raised on the principles of duty and self-sacrifice. They would teach young Harry that sacrifices must be made. For the greater good. So when the day came for Harry to realise his destiny, he would walk toward it and embrace it with dignity.

"I understand your unease, Hokage-sama," Dumbledore conceded, using the local customs. "However, there is much to be gained for both our nations with this exchange. For the next ten years, your village will be responsible for Harry's well being and tutelage, ideally in the methods of your 'ninja' though that will be at your discretion. Then once he reaches his eleventh year approximately ten years from now, he will return to his home country to be educated through our methods. In doing so, he will be considered to be on one of your long-term S-rank missions and thus your village will receive payment in goods equalling the payment of such."

There were a great many things the foreigner was not saying. That much was patently obvious. However, hiding things from ninja was not a wise move; a fact that Dumbledore would learn in time. "This seems to benefit you far more than it does the leaf, based solely on what you are _not_ saying, Dumbledore-dono." the Hokage observed.

"Oh, of course there will be a down-payment for your services in raising the lad." Dumbledore agreed, only mildly disappointed that they wouldn't agree immediately. Perhaps he had gotten too used to his peers worshipping the ground he walked upon. Setting the thought aside for another day, he withdrew several books from a bag clearly too small to carry them. "Tomes of knowledge from my personal library", he lied. They were second hand from Flourish and Blotts but these xenophobes weren't likely to double check. "Harry would likely have the best chance of making use of them after his time at our school is complete but your people are of course welcome to their use as well. I translated them into your language myself." With a translation charm that took about four seconds. It was possible there were a few translation errors, and even more of a chance of some words not even having a proper translation, but that wasn't the older of the men's problem.

The third Hokage started leafing through one of the volumes placed on his desk. It seemed legitimate. Though its usefulness would take time to determine. "Upon completion of your mission he will return to the leaf." Sarutobi stated. It was not a request.

"I would rather not force the lad to do so." Dumbledore answered. "However, should he wish to return to this place I will not stop him. He will also have the option of returning for the months of June through August every year, if that is agreeable."

"... It is." Sarutobi reluctantly agreed. They would have the chance to reaffirm the boy's loyalty to Konoha every year. That opportunity would be invaluable if he brought all of the knowledge of these foreigners back with him. "The council and myself shall deliberate on your offer. Accommodations shall be provided for you in the meantime."

"That is... most kind of you." Dumbledore said slowly. "Unfortunately I do have prior commitments and therefore require an answer by the end of the day. I apologise for the inconvenience."

-(-)-

The Konoha council chambers was a simple room in the shape of a semicircle. Along the one flat wall was a wooden podium. Behind which stood the third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. On his left and right seated at tables of their own were his advisers Koharu and Homura. Surrounding them around the edge of the room stood the rest of the council behind a low wall matching the shape of the room. On the left side were civilian advisors numbering five – merchants and bankers that held together the village's economy. On the right were the military side of the council; the heads of each significant clan in Konoha. From the ocularly blessed Uchiha to the canine training Inuzuka.

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, this does not seem a significant issue." the head of the Uchiha clan argued.

"Hate to say it, but I have to agree." the head of the Inuzuka said. "One kid won't have much of an impact. We either take him or we don't. Either way, we don't really stand to lose anything."

"Oh?" began the head of the white-eyed Hyuuga clan. "And if we were to train the boy only for this 'Dumbledore' to take him to Iwa afterwards?"

"You can't honestly be suggesting a child could destabilise the village based on what he learned by age _eleven_?" the Yamanaka head asked incredulously.

"Whether that is what Hyuuga-san meant or not is irrelevant." Sarutobi interrupted. "We know well where his loyalties lie and they belong to none on the elemental nations. Whatever he wants, he wants it for his own country, this 'Britain'. And whatever that is, it involves the boy somehow."

"Is he significant in some way? What did the sensors say?" asked Homura.

"Of Dumbledore they said his chakra capacity was remarkable for a non-ninja. Jonin level at least. Of the baby... They said the boy had well above average chakra levels for a child his age. However, they also claim that he carries a second distinct chakra signature."

At this the seemingly uninterested Nara clan head suddenly paid full attention. "A jinchuriki?" he asked.

Sarutobi shook his head. "They specifically ruled that out. The signature is human if... corrupted somehow. They couldn't describe it well beyond calling it 'wrong'."

"Were our medics able to determine anything?" Koharu asked.

"We weren't able to get them a look. Dumbledore is being very protective of him until we make a decision. Won't let the boy out of his sight."

There was a brief silence.

"Very well." The Hokage said. "Does anyone have reason to refuse this offer?" As the Uchiha head opened his mouth Sarutobi added "Aside from 'it's a waste of resources'." The Uchiha's mouth closed again.

No one spoke. Thus that issue was solved.

"Very well. Where shall he be placed? Is any clan willing to take him in?" Sarutobi asked the ninja clan heads.

The bloodline limit clans, the Uchiha, Hyuuga and Kurama were obviously out. The boy would be an outcast in those clans for not possessing the special abilities of the clan. If Konoha wanted the boy to return, they needed him to feel welcome. To call the village 'home'.

The Yamanaka, though willing, were also out due to their distinctive features that the boy did not share. That left the Akimichi, the Aburame, the Nara and the Inuzuka.

"We cannot take him. He would learn nothing from us." The head of the bug-using Aburame stated flatly.

Looking at the two other remaining heads who continued to look uncomfortable with the idea of adopting someone into their clan, Shikotsu Nara, head of the Nara clan spoke up. "We'll take him then. We have someone who will take him in." It wouldn't hurt to have someone with decent chakra capacity in the clan for once, he added in his own mind. It wasn't too far-fetched to request the boy donate a few samples to add to the clan's gene pool in return for raising him. "What is his name?"

"Harry Potter." The sandaime answered, struggling with the foreign pronunciation.

"Strange. We'll have to change it."

-(-)-

Ayami Nara was a ninja. As a citizen of a hidden village and member of a prominent clan, that shouldn't come as a surprise. She was a mildly talented chunin in her mid-twenties with tan skin and the untidy dark hair common in her clan secured in a ponytail. As a ninja, she was not particularly special. She had the low chakra capacity that was common for a Nara but was unfortunately not gifted with the near genius level intellect the more prominent members of the clan were famous for. Thus, her career as a ninja was at something of a dead end. Her capabilities were not such that she could be trusted to protect her own genin cell as a jonin so promotion was out of the question. She could join ANBU and become one of the anonymous protectors of the village but...

Ayami wanted children.

As a ninja, life expectancy is greatly shortened but as a somewhat mediocre ninja she wouldn't be expected to carry out the more dangerous and deadly missions. Border patrol and simple escort missions were the norm with occasional simple bandit eradications thrown in to keep things interesting and keep her skills sharp. But even so, she had had enough close calls to know at some point her luck would run out. In a sense, it already had. As an attempt to start a family of her own she had married another chunin she had served on some missions with and got along with well enough. They weren't exactly in love but they both understood with their high-risk occupation, waiting for 'perfect' is ill advised.

They had been married for six months when her husband Akito was killed by a missing nin while on a border patrol mission.

They might not have been in love. But that did not mean Ayami didn't care for Akito deeply. To lose him so suddenly left her in a state of despair and hopelessness. She did not want to remarry for fear of suffering another such loss. Thus, her hope for having children, of leaving a legacy behind, was lost.

This was the situation Shikotsu Nara walked in to, carrying a small boy with messy black hair and vivid green eyes.

-(-)-

Almost nine years passed. In those nine years many things had happened. The old man seeking sanctuary for his mysterious ward returned home. A matter of weeks later, war broke out in the elemental nations. The third great ninja war. It lasted for a long and bloody three years. Ayami had no choice but to do her duty as a ninja of the Leaf and fight to protect her village and young son. Two years into the war she came closer than ever before to the end of her days. While fighting an Iwa nin when she was caught unawares by a wind technique that robbed her of her left leg. She was saved at the last minute but her ninja career was effectively over. It would be two years before she learned what a stroke of luck this was. Only a single year after the end of the third great ninja war, the Leaf was struck with another calamity.

The greatest of the tailed chakra beasts, the nine-tailed Kyuubi no Yoko attacked. Had she not been crippled in the war, she would have been mobilised like every other Leaf nin, and more than likely would have been killed. She was sorely tempted to send that Iwa nin a fruit basket when that realisation struck.

Many ninja were lost that day. Their numbers thinned, the Leaf was once again vulnerable to attack. As such, the age restriction for entrance into the ninja academy was lowered from eight to six in an attempt to rebuild their forces as quickly as possible. Naturally Ayami's young son, raised on tales of his clan's exploits in the war and the new legend of the fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, enrolled as soon as he was able. Four years of training both at the academy and at home learning his clan's techniques brought him to this day. The day he would become a ninja!

"Hari Toukou-Nara!" the academy teacher called.

A young boy with vivid green eyes, dark hair in an unusual – for those not of the Nara clan at least – pineapple style and wearing circle-framed glasses walked forward and accepted his official Konoha nin headband.

-(-)-

A/N: Are you happy now, brain? I wrote you a chapter for the ninja origin. Can we go back to writing the things _I_ want to write now?

Okay. This is another HPGOTY story. The game elements will be present but less significant. 'Toukou' is the closest translation I could find for 'Potter'. Harry (or Hari) is currently ten years old. The impact of this story in the greater scope of the GOTY series is nil. For those who read the original, Harry used the 'memory lock' feature he unlocked which makes this life separate from his others. He won't remember the events of the standard story. He won't remember the events of this story in other stories. There may be one or two exceptions to these rules. Other than that you might as well think of this as its own thing.

Yes, I know who Hari's team as a genin will be. Yes, I know who his team as a jonin will be. Yes, I know what house he will be in at Hogwarts. Yes, I know whether he will have summons. Yes, I'll be working on both this and the standard version (because this one just won't leave me alone).

I think that covers things people will inevitably ask.

Thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

"And you're certain this is the team you want?" Sarutobi asked the cheery new jonin in front of him. "There is certainly potential in the arrangement..."

"The Inuzuka girl for tracking and medical, the Aburame for debilitating the target and the Nara for bringing it down. They have the makings of an excellent hunter nin team."

"True enough." the Hokage agreed. "And the two sedate personalities will be good to curb the Inuzuka's more aggressive tendencies. Are you aware of the Nara's situation, though?"

"His mission starts in one year, correct?"

"Not much time to train him."

"I'll ensure it's enough."

-(-)-

The Nara clan combat philosophy almost since its inception was simple. 'Use what they have to use what you have.' Put plainly, it means to find advantage in every enemy action so that their demise is already half done. It saves time, resources and most importantly of all, effort.

The Nara were not big fans of effort.

Perhaps the philosophy is partially to blame for that. However, there was reason for it as members have a tendency to have a below average chakra capacity at best, forcing them to make use of other resources at their disposal such as their near ubiquitous genius-level intellect. Then again, that particular resource may be another reason for the clan's overall laziness. The gifted can sometimes take that gift for granted, breezing through learning only to balk at the idea of working hard at things they find difficult.

Hari Nara was not so gifted. That isn't to say he was stupid or slow compared to his peers. Far from it. But compared to other members of the Nara clan? Much like his adoptive mother, his brain was as efficient as any regular ninja. But while he may not have been blessed with the Nara's greatest advantage, he was also spared their greatest weakness.

Hari Nara was _motivated_.

He knew his mother Ayami's history. How she was as motivated as he was for exactly the same reason. Living in a clan of geniuses can be depressing when you do as they do but just can't seem to keep up. So Hari, much like his mother, did what they did, then increased it five-fold. Studying longer and harder than they did. Practicing taijutsu and weapon throwing for as long as he could stand. And finally, in an attempt to maximise the one true advantage he had, practicing every ninjutsu and chakra control exercise he knew until he neared exhaustion.

Unsurprisingly, the effort paid off. Hari graduated the academy at the top of his class, earning him the prestigious title (for an academy student) of Rookie of the Year.

It was almost sad that, after all that effort Hari was selected by his would-be jonin sensei because he was 'a Nara', not because he showed any exceptional talent. His work ethic and existing skill set, clan abilities aside, were a welcome bonus, but not a deciding factor.

Shortly after returning to the Nara clan grounds following the final exam, Hari was met by Shikaku Nara, current head of the Nara clan after his uncle Shikotsu was lost in the Third Great Ninja War. Shikaku had proven himself a more than capable leader for the clan despite his greater affliction with the clan's constant apathy. A fair amount of credit for this went to his wife Yoshino and her haranguing him for being lazy.

As was the norm for Shikaku (or his five year old son, Shikamaru), he challenged Hari to a game of shogi. It was a foregone conclusion that Hari would lose, the game mostly an excuse to engage in conversation. Talking to distract your opponent could be seen as part of the game, after all. Talking just to talk would be... ugh, effort.

"So you were named Rookie of the Year." Shikaku observed.

"Yes, Shikaku-sama." Hari answered dutifully, focusing more on the game.

Shikaku sighed. He had been trying to get Hari to drop the 'sama' honorific that was a holdover from when Shikotsu ran things. No such luck. The boy was so serious and... tense all of the time. Would it kill him to relax a little? "I don't think a Nara has achieved that before."

"No, Shikaku-sama." Hari answered again.

"It may be that they didn't want to wear themselves out on basic theory when there will be more important lessons to be learned in the future."

Hari looked up from the board to meet Shikaku's eyes. "The basics are the foundations of all ninja, Shikaku-sama." This was something one of his academy teachers had said and it had stuck with him.

"I know." Shikaku assuaged. "I'm sure Hokage-sama would say something like 'Your will of fire burns brightly' or something", he had in fact said that when Shikaku brought it up, and he also said, "but I'm worried if you keep this pace that it will burn out. That would be... troublesome."

Hari looked up at Shikaku again and was surprised to see not the usual relaxed expression he expected, but concern and genuine compassion. He looked away again. "I appreciate your concern Shikaku-sama. I will be fine."

"But why push yourself so ha-"

"I do not have your gift, Shikaku-sama." Hari said, gesturing to the shogi game where Shikaku had more or less already won. "Your son, five years younger than me can best me in this game almost as handily as you have. I am not gifted with your intellect but you, Yoshino-sama, Mother, you all gave me everything. So perhaps if I push myself hard enough, one day I may prove myself worthy of this clan."

'Prove himself worthy...' Shikaku ran the words through his head over and over. He would have called the boy an idiot were it not among the stupidest things he could say at that moment. "Very well. Hari, I can tell you exactly how you can prove yourself worthy of being a member of this clan." Hari looked at him expectantly. "You can repeat that little speech you gave in front of your mother."

Hari's eyes widened. "But-!"

"But what?" Shikaku asked. "But that would upset her? I'll tell you something. Say the same to Yoshino and you'd get the same reaction. I'm not exactly thrilled after hearing it either. Hari, you aren't blood. That's true. But it doesn't matter. You are _clan_. You are _family_! Are we clear?"

"Yes, Shikaku-sam-"

"AH!" Shikaku interrupted, raising a warning finger.

"... Yes, Shikaku-ojisan."

Shikaku nodded. "Better. Checkmate, by the way." he said, making his final move and ending the game. "And you were wrong about not being gifted. You do have your own gift. And I'm going to teach you something so that you can make the most of it. But promise you'll always follow my rules for using it. You'd put yourself in danger going overboard with it. And... don't tell anyone where you learned it. That would be-"

"Troublesome?" Hari piped up, smirking slightly.

"Yes. That."

-(-)-

"Quiet down and listen for your team assignments." The academy instructor spoke with authority. It would be the last class for the newly graduated and newly promoted genin where they would be assigned to four man cells. Three genin and one jonin sensei. "Team 1 is still operating so we start with Team 2:"

Hari waited patiently for his name to be called. He had no real preference for who would be on his team. If he were honest he would say he probably couldn't put names to faces for most of his classmates.

"Team 4 will be Hana Inuzuka, Hari Toukou-Nara and Keika Aburame. Your jonin sensei is Shisui Uchiha."

"Hey there, runts!" An unfamiliar voice spoke, startling both class and instructor.

A face popped up from one of the classroom windows. Well, not 'up' exactly as the man seemed to have lowered himself from the upper edge of the window somehow. He had short unkempt dark hair surrounded by his Konoha headband and a broad nose. A high collar could be seen just over (or under) the window ledge. "Shisui-san, the jonin sensei are not to arrive until after lunch." The instructor drawled.

His head tilted to the left... or right? No, if he was upside down then it would be left either way because the kids perspective would be reversed normally but then reversed again because he was upside dow- you know what? He tilted his freaking head. Who cares which way it was! "Yeah, that's one way to do things," The now named Shisui said, untilting his head from whichever way it was tilted, "but here's my alternative. Team 4, assemble at training field 11 in five minutes. Got it? Good!" Shisui grinned before disappearing from view, a few leaves inexplicably drifting into the classroom afterwards.

There was a dumbfounded silence for a half a moment before the instructor, very much used to the insanity surrounding high-ranking ninja, continued reading the team assignments. It was at this point that the three would-be members of Team 4 realised the training fields were halfway across the village and that they had to somehow get there within five minutes – or rather four minutes forty seconds – and rushed through the classroom door.

-(-)-

Shisui arrived at training field 11 approximately thirty-six seconds after he set his new team their little introductory challenge. He knew there was no way for them to get here within five minutes but it served to put them off balance and vulnerable for the next part. He hid himself in the trees surrounding the open field and waited to get his first look at his new team.

The first to arrive was Hana Inuzuka with a time of six minutes, twenty seven seconds, though how much credit she was due would be debatable. From what Shisui could guess, she had gotten her canine companions, the Haimaru Triplets, to track his scent. A fair tactic. It meant she wouldn't waste time trying to track down the correct training field. Unfortunately by the looks of things, the three husky-like dogs were more... enthusiastic than she expected. Based on the scuff-marks, she had actually been dragged through the dirt for some of the trip. She was wearing a dark blue zip-up jacket and a pair of form-fitting shorts cut just above the knee. Her brown hair was tied in a ponytail with bangs framing her face. The red fang tattoos indicating her being an Inuzuka were visible on her cheeks. A tool pouch could be seen on her right hip. Seemingly exhausted and in some amount of pain, she decided to lie down for a bit as she waited for the others.

Next to arrive was Hari Nara... _'Or not.'_ Shisui thought as what he thought was Hari Nara disappeared in a puff of smoke, indicating he was a clone of some sort. The appearance of the real Hari only a few seconds later showed the clone was exactly what Shisui thought it was. _'Now _that's_ interesting. Have to wonder who taught him the Shadow Clone technique... Oh. Shadow. Right. He's a Nara. Of course they know that technique.'_ He had to give the boy credit though. Using them to scout and find the right location faster was smart. His final time was seven minutes, three seconds.

Hari wore his hair in the traditional Nara 'pineapple' style, and wore round-framed glasses. Thanks to his hair being tied back, a jagged scar could be seen on his forehead. _'That unusual second chakra presence.'_ Shisui remembered. _'They never did find a way to remove it but it doesn't seem to be affecting him.'_ The boy wore a black button-up jacket over a white shirt. There was a mechanism on his arm that looked like a launcher for something. A tanto in a plain black sheath was worn on his right hip for a left hand draw and two tool pouches could be seen on his right shoulder and on the outside of his left thigh. His trousers were cut short halfway up the shins clearly showing black shinobi sandals.

And last but not... No, in actual fact she was both last and least. Keika Aburame was the dead last of the academy class, somewhat ostracised for being the 'weird bug girl'. She didn't seem to use any special method to arrive faster. She just showed up, tired and panting, at about the ten minute mark. Which was still not bad for a genin. She was dressed in the stylings of her clan. Sunglasses covered her eyes and a dark purple trenchcoat with a hood tied tightly around her covered pretty much everything else.

"Well that was pretty terrible." Shisui told the three exhausted genin as he blurred into view in front of them. "So care to tell me what went wrong?" he said, with an impatient edge to his voice.

"Dogs... faster than me... pain..." Hana mumbled from the grass.

"I couldn't find the right place fast enough." Hari frowned. He had gotten to the training fields in good time by roof hopping. If he went to the exact right training field on his first try, he would have gotten there in the allotted time.

Of course, there were around _sixty_ training fields, so the actual chances of that were slim.

"Wasn't fast enough." Keika panted.

"And the dead last gets right to the heart of it!" Shisui growled. He really liked playing the bad guy sometimes! "Though I guess it isn't fair calling her that. You two are just as much failures as she is! Tch. When Hokage-sama assigned me as a sensei I had no idea the graduating genin would be so _worthless_!"

Looking (or glaring, to be accurate) at the genin each in turn Shisui could see he had gotten to them. It was time to get things started. With a put-upon sigh, Shisui adopted a more conciliatory tone. "But orders are orders. So I tell you what I'll do. I'll take two of you. That way, maybe I can make half-decent ninja out of those two. Maybe. _Eventually_."

"You can't do that." Hari interrupted. "Each new team is a team of three genin and a jonin sensei."

"Oh, _really_?" Shisui asked sarcastically with a spike of killing intent causing Hari to lose his nerve. "The little failure wants to educate me on Konoha law, then? Let me enlighten you, you arrogant little smartass; we wouldn't be a _team_. You would be my _apprentices_. We'd basically be a free floating unit that would be added to established teams that need extra backup for a mission. Not that you need to know that, Nara. I'm not in the habit of taking on brats who think it's clever to talk back to their superiors!"

He paused just long enough to slowly eye each of the critically, judgingly, before he finally continued. "Well, damn. I guess that does make you three equally worthless, now that I think about it. The insubordinate shitstain, the Inuzuka that can't handle dogs," a quiet groan came from Hana, "and the dead last." Shisui almost winced when he saw Keika start shrinking into herself. He was laying it on too thick, he realised. Time to wrap it up. "Know what? You all suck so much, I can't decide who to take. So you guys do it. I'll be back in ten minutes. When I get back I want you to tell me which one of you goes back to the academy."

His terms laid down, Shisui disappeared again in a swirl of leaves.

Hana sat up.

Hari sighed.

Keika sniffled.

"I'll go back." All three said together before blinking almost simultaneously in shock.

"What? Don't be stupid, needle dick." Hana said to Hari, calling him the name she always had that he never acknowledged in the slightest. "You're Rookie of the Year. It'd make no sense for you to have to go back. He was right. An Inuzuka that can't handle dogs is worthless. I should go back."

"No. I should go back. I barely passed basic ninjutsu and I _failed_ the taijutsu exam. It makes the most sense for me to go back." Keika said quietly.

"Those are pretty good reasons." Hari observed, earning him mean looks from both girls, though only one was visible. "But Shikaku-ojisan said he was worried about me burning out and pushing myself too hard. Maybe an extra year at the academy where I can take it easier would be good for me."

"AW, COME ON!" Shisui's voice sounded out from the trees. A few seconds later he appeared in front of them and sighed. "You pass..." he said with a dismissive gesture.

"...Eh?" Hana asked.

"Man, I had it all planned out! Set you an impossible task, make you feel bad because you couldn't do it, see if I could turn you against each other... It was supposed to be a test of your teamwork but all I ended up doing was make you _want_ to go back to the academy for real!" Shisui lamented.

"So... we pass?" Hari asked.

"Yeah, you pass, we're a team, hurrah. Come on, let's go get lunch so I can apologise for making you all hate yourselves. Oh, and celebrate, I guess. Team 4. Woo."

The three genin of the newly minted Team 4 looked at one another. "Woo." They echoed, weak smiles on their faces, before following their new sensei.

-(-)-

A/N: Good stuff. I liked this chapter. Feel free to rip me apart if I got the timeline wrong or something. I'll more or less ignore those comments since I spent an inordinate amount of time researching it and the whole damn thing is pretty nebulous anyway.

So Hari has a team! And it isn't an InoShikaCho. If you thought it would be, I'm glad I messed with your expectations. As for Shisui, who saw that one coming, huh?

Ummm...

Don't think I have anything else to say. So...

Thanks for reading.


	3. Chapter 3

"This is your fault, needle dick." Hana hissed as Team 4 returned to the mission assignment office. She was covered in scratches and not a small number of bite marks as she held an angry looking brown cat that was trying desperately to achieve freedom.

Over the past four weeks since becoming Team 4, the team had carried out a total of 22 D-rank missions, catching this cat was mission number 23. The genin of the team were starting to get a bit disillusioned with their career choice, especially considering their sensei refused to assist with the grunt work, calling it a teamwork exercise. That was both true _and_ gave him an excuse to watch his team suffer as he had suffered as a genin. Schadenfreude is a wonderful thing.

"Yes. My fault. We've been over this Hana. None of my techniques are good for trapping small animals. The Kagemane (Shadow Imitation) technique forces the target follow my movements and a cat's limbs don't bend that way. I would've crippled it." Hari retorted.

"What about hitting it with one of those needles?" Hana pressed.

"Designed for a person, not a cat. If I hit Tora with one of those I would've skewered her."

"_Exactly_!" Hana hissed again.

In the end, the team had made copious use of Keika's glowing kikaichu (parasitic insects) to weaken Tora and slow her down so that the Haimaru triplets could corner her and Hana could make the catch. It was rather entertaining to watch the cat as she realised her tactical error in eating one of the bugs.

"Ah, buck up, kiddies! This is a time to celebrate!" Shisui gushed. "We've just finished completed the requirements for moving up to C-rank missions, after all!"

"Requirements?" Keika questioned quietly.

"Yep!" Shisui answered with an annoying amount of cheerfulness. "20 completed D-rank missions means this team is moving up in the world! Great news, right?"

"That... is a relief. Wait..." Hari said slowly, frowning.

"This was our twenty-third mission, Shisui-sensei." Keika spoke, finishing Hari's thought.

Shisui laughed nervously. "Well, I kinda wanted to see how you three would handle the Tora mission and it hadn't come up for your first twenty. It's kind of a rite of passage for genin. Has been since Hokage-sama was a genin, in fact. Have to wonder how the damn thing lives so long, now that I think about it..." His train of thought was interrupted by the Killing Intent coming from his three genin. "Umm... See you at the assignment office!" He shouted, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

The rest of Team 4 just stood there for a second, planning revenge on their apparently evil sensei. That is, until Tora took advantage of Hana's distraction and escaped.

Hana looked from her now empty arms to the demon cat, seemingly taunting them standing in the middle of the road. "FFFFFFUUUUU-uh?"

A 'fwip' sound and the yowl of a cat in pain brought her out of her anguish to see the demon cat with a rather large needle through its leg. She looked at Hari in shock as he reset his senbon launcher then lowered his arm.

Hari shrugged. "You're a vet. You can fix it... Matter of fact, let me choke it out first so it doesn't run away when you're done." He suggested, moving on the downed feline.

-(-)-

"Aww, you brought back my Tora! Oh, look how cute she is, sleeping like a baby!" The fire daimyo's wife enthused as she seemingly smothered it in her embrace.

"Yes. Sleeping." Hari echoed flatly.

-(-)-

"So you go on your first C-rank mission tomorrow?" Ayami asked Hari as he told her about his day.

"Yes. It should be more stimulating than painting fences and babysitting. I welcome the change of pace." Hari answered.

Ayami wasn't sure he would think so after the mission was complete. But she wouldn't tell him that. She would let him enjoy the anticipation for now. And when he returned, she would be there for him.

He was her son, after all.

-(-)-

"Team 4 requesting their first C-rank mission." Shisui informed the chunin on duty at the assignment office for the day, a paper-thin smile on his face for the benefit of his genin standing around him, more genuine smiles on their faces.

The chunin frowned. Shisui's eyes hardened slightly and the frown disappeared. A scroll was brought from under the desk bound by a red string and the letter C clearly visible on the paper.

The chunin opened and read the scroll aloud. "Standard border patrol mission along the southern half of the River Country border. Does Team 4 accept this mission?"

"Yes." Shisui answered promptly.

The chunin handed the scroll over to Shisui. "Good luck." And with that he went back to reading his book. He looked up as the kids were heading through the door. He sighed sadly before putting it out of his mind. All genin had to go through it at some point.

-(-)-

"Alright. Open your packs. Let's see what you brought for a week-long mission." Shisui ordered.

He checked Hana's first. "Single change of clothes, explosive tags (should really be in a tool pouch rather than your pack), rations (not strictly necessary but you never know, so good thinking), dog food?" he asked her before throwing the bags of pre-cooked meat chunks away.

"Hey! That was the good stuff!" Hana complained.

"It also has a strong smell. Not good for if we want to keep a low profile." Shisui retorted. "What's in the storage seals? "

"Spare kunai and shuriken." Hana answered.

"Okay then. Alright, firebug. You're next." He announced, opening Keika's pack. "Change of clothes again, rations again, some storage seals, what's in those?"

"Shuriken and smoke grenades." Keika answered.

"To cover using your bugs? Good. Alright, your turn Hari."

"Cartridges for your senbon launcher, a whetstone, rations, storage seals?" Shisui asked leadingly.

"Change of clothes, a couple dozen spare senbon, two spare pairs of glasses." Hari answered.

"Alright. You guys did a good job preparing. Though in the future I suggest bringing a few empty storage seals. Never know who or what you might find on a mission. Anyone just realise they need to do something right at the last minute?"

"No, sensei." The three genin answered dutifully.

Shisui mimed wiping a tear from his eye. "I love having a not stupid team. Okay! Team 4, move out!"

-(-)-

_Four days later_

The mission was going swimmingly. The team had headed south-west from Konoha, stopping briefly in the nearby town of Tanzaku-Gai (no need for roughing it before the mission even started for real, after all) before continuing their path towards the border of River Country. It was their second day marching south along that border that the genin realised the adventure they were expecting mostly involved a whole lot of walking and nothing happening.

"This sucks!" Hana whined. Nimaru, one of her dogs echoed her sentiment.

"Welcome to the wonderful world of C-rank missions!" Shisui said with a grin. "A whole lot of walking and not much else. Isn't being a ninja great?"

"I don't hate it." Hari admitted. "A nice relaxing walk never hurt anyone."

"Well at least you're not bitching about it like Bitchy McBitchpants over here." Shisui said, pointing his thumb in Hana's direction who didn't seem to mind her new moniker in the slightest. "But don't get too relaxed. We _are_ on a mission and you never know when things could turn sour. Always stay alert on a mission, understood?"

The genin team nodded.

Shisui took a glance at the mission scroll. The map showed they were getting close to their destination.

-(-)-

Shisui stopped the team in their march. They were around two miles away from the south coast and around a quarter mile away from their target.

"Why did we stop, Shisui-sensei?" Keika asked.

"There is a bandit camp around a quarter of a mile to the east. We're going to deal with it." He answered solemnly.

The genin's eyes widened. "I-I thought this was just a border patrol mission!"

"Yes. And there are criminals in Fire Country territory near the border. Ergo, it's our responsibility to clear them out."

"And by clear them out, you mean..." Hana trailed off.

"Kill them." Shisui finished.

The three genin were silent, looking at each other, uncertainty in their eyes. They had known on an academic level that this was what ninja did. They were soldiers or assassins depending on the mission, after all, but to be faced with the reality of taking the life of another person... None of them were sure that they were ready; that they would _ever_ be ready for that.

"I know you're nervous. This is an essential part of your training as true ninja. But you don't have to do this. If you tell me now, you can stay on the sidelines and return with us to Konoha. You would be removed from this team and likely placed in a non-combat role. Teaching, administration, cryptology, that kind of thing. It's your choice."

Hana didn't need to think about it. She was never going to let herself chicken out at a moment like this. "I'm in, Shisui-sensei."

Keika never saw herself as strong. Either in mind or in body. She had imagined herself in a moment like this one. A moment where she was asked to do something and she believed she wouldn't be able to handle it. She believed that in a moment when lives were truly on the line, she would falter. It didn't happen like that. "I-I can do this, sensei." She said quietly. She graduated. She had a team. She had comrades. She refused to let them down!

"I can handle it, Shisui-sensei." Hari said. And he really, truly believed he could.

"Shisui watched the resolved faces of his genin to see if any would change their minds. None would. "Here's the plan."

-(-)-

The bandits were in low spirits that night. The expected raid on a merchant caravan to the east went poorly. If 'poorly' would be a good descriptor for every bandit being slaughtered by the extra guards hired by the merchant. It seemed Konoha had gotten wind of their operation. As such, the remaining residents of the camp were preparing to move to a more favourable location. Perhaps stopping in Tanzaku-Gai to spend their earnings before heading further north.

There were a total of fifteen bandits in the camp including a missing nin. A genin from Kusagakure who, while worthless as a ninja, figured he could find some success as a criminal. And since he was only a genin, his head wouldn't be worth enough to get the attention of bounty hunters. Powerful enough to be a leader. Weak enough to be ignored by those who would hunt him. He really had hit the sweet spot. He still wore his Kusa headband to keep his image as the strongest. He didn't need anyone challenging his position and none of his thug underlings were stupid enough to take on a ninja.

Unfortunately, his underlings weren't the only ones made aware of his status by the headband. Three senbon found his neck and the leader of the camp was dead before the thugs knew they were under attack.

The five men on guard duty (and doing a great job of it sitting around a campfire) were distracted by some fireflies that seemed to be attracted by the blaze. When one of the men reached out to touch one, it flew towards his face, confusing the man further. As it neared, he got a better look at the insect and realised it was in fact not a firefly. It was smaller and had some nasty looking teeth. As he moved to swat it out of the air, it flew around him and he felt it land on his neck.

He wasn't given time to swat it again.

The six kikaichu chose their targets and burrowed under their skin. As the screams of the terrified men awakened the rest of the camp, no one heard the small, purple-clad girl whisper "Aburame Hijutsu: Keika Kyuuzou (Aburame Secret Technique: Light of a Firefly Burst)!" As she watched the five men collapse, lethal wounds visible from where her special firefly kikaichu had detonated, she whispered, "I'm sorry." as a tear fell from underneath her sunglasses.

The screams had woken up the rest of the camp but that wouldn't matter much. Hana had been busy while the guards were distracted, sneaking into one of the two large tents and ending lives with the single slice of a kunai. She had hesitated for the first but in the end she put the blade to his throat, shut her eyes tightly and drew the blade across. As she heard the sound of choking and gurgling she opened her eyes and was unable to close them again as she watched blood pour out of the wound in the man's neck. His death throes were over in seconds and it was a further few more before she returned to her brutal task. By the end of it she had killed four men in their sleep.

Hari had rushed to the other tent after taking out the leader but had only managed to end one of the remaining five targets before the rest woke up. Using his tanto, he slashed the side of the tent open making the light from the fire spread inside. Dropping his sword and forming the rat seal with his hands he spoke the name of his technique aloud. "Kagemane no Jutsu (Shadow Imitation Technique)." As the last four men in the camp scrambled to their feet, Hari's shadow stretched across the floor catching three of them, the last still being covered by the darkness. Seeing the three men imitate his posture, Hari once again took hold of his sword and cut down the closest man while he was helpless to do anything about it.

As they had been imitating Hari's actions, the other two men caught in his technique had tripped over their own beds. And since the last man was now fully awake and aware, Hari had more pressing concerns. Or he would have, had the last man not fallen to his knees and started crying. "Oh, Kami, please don't kill me, Ninja-san! I don't want to die!" he wailed.

Hari was stunned. He had no idea what to do. He had already killed three men today and in no way wanted to do it again, and the man hand basically surrendered. But... the mission was to eradicate them. But they had gotten the leader and the majority of his men. Maybe he could be merciful just once...

As he thought this, he hadn't realised he had released his technique holding the other two men in the room and they were slowly getting their bearings. One had taken a knife from under a bed...

"Gah!" Hari cried out as he felt something rip into his left leg. He didn't notice the begging man make a run for it but he did notice his loss in concentration had earned him a knife wound. In listening to a plea for mercy he had left himself open to attack.

His scowl made his reaction to that plain. He had run out of mercy today.

-(-)-

The trip back to Konoha had been quiet. No one wanted to say anything though Shisui had given Hari a reprimand for leaving himself open. Being merciful isn't a bad thing, he had said, but it can be a dangerous thing.

There was no great fanfare upon reporting their completed mission. Shisui had handed in his report, gotten their payment for a job well done and they had left. He almost suggested celebrating but wisely decided against it. He remembered what a first kill felt like. None of them were in a celebrating mood. Instead he had told his team to report to training field eleven at 10AM and they had gone their separate ways. The three genin went home, Shisui went to a bar to drink away some bad memories.

On Hari's return home, he had made the excuse to his mother that he was tired and was headed straight to bed. Ayami was having none of it though. As he tried to limp past her to his room she wrapped her arms around him, told him he wasn't a bad person and told him she loved him.

She continued to hold him as he fell to pieces in her arms and cried himself to sleep.

-(-)-

A/N: I swear. Every time I start a chapter with a light-hearted scene I end up with a downer ending for the chapter. I have no idea why.

You may be wondering why Hari didn't use shadow clones in the assault on the camp. The mission was specifically for the purpose of giving the team their first kills. Using a shadow clone would've distanced him from the action which went against the intent of the mission. Same reason Hana's dogs weren't used, though those were around if things went tits up.

So what do we think of Keika's special bugs? I thought that was an interesting twist on the concept. There are drawbacks to using them over ordinary kikaichu so don't worry about them being broken.

I think that covers everything. I look forward to reviews. Hoping for some interesting reactions.

Thanks for reading!

A/N2: Edited for my inability to count to fifteen.


	4. Chapter 4

Shisui's ever present smile faded slightly on seeing his newly blooded genin enter their designated training field. With a glance he could see how tired they were. Doubtless they hadn't slept much. In truth, they hadn't since their attack on the camp. The nightmares after their first time were never fun for any ninja.

"Yo!" He shouted, revealing himself by hanging from a tree upside-down. "So we're not taking a mission for the next few days. It's mandatory that Genin take a five day break after their first C-rank mission. These," He continued, flicking a card at each of his team, "are also mandatory."

"A psychiatrist?" Hana asked, reading the appointment card.

"A _Yamanaka_ psychiatrist?" Hari added apprehensively.

"That's right. It might be part of the job but no one ever said killing is easy, even for ninja. I'm not great dealing with the whole feelings thing and since that's often the case with Jonin we have people specifically trained to help with it. And yes," He said before Hari could interrupt. "She's a Yamanaka. But she's also a professional and nothing you say in your sessions will be heard by anyone outside of you and her." He paused for a second. "Unless you say you're going to turn traitor or something. Then she kind of has to tell the Hokage. But that's it."

"But-" Hari tried to interrupt.

"Yes, I know your families are close, Hari. She still won't say anything. If she started airing your dirty little secrets to people who actually know you rather than just strangers from her clan as it would be for the girls, well that would be an even greater betrayal, wouldn't it? Also, did I mention it's mandatory?"

Hari sighed in defeat and pocketed the card.

"Good!" Shisui exclaimed before dropping from the tree and sitting down. The blood rushing to his head was starting to make him dizzy. "So since I lucked out and got all your appointments scheduled for this afternoon, we're going to go over the mission as a team and go over what went right and what went wrong. Let's start with... Firebug."

Keika looked up at Shisui expectantly.

"Nice work with the surprise attack! Taking down all of the guards at once was a masterstroke, though giving them time to alert the others not so much."

"Time was needed to find... vital areas." Keika said quietly.

"Hmmm. Going for the throat and detonating immediately would silence them instantly. That would be the best course of action when trying to keep things quiet in future. Other than that, good work." Shisui praised her.

"Next up: Hana! Quiet and clean. Nicely done." He praised again, the dog training girl not quite knowing how to take praise for murdering people in their sleep, remained silent. She supposed that was what the psych appointment would be for.

"And lastly, Hari. You were a bit early but good job taking down the leader. As for what happened in the tent-"

"I made a mistake." Hari interrupted.

"Not what I was going to say. Also, seriously, stop interrupting me. There's a reason I'm running this show and not you, got it?" Shisui admonished him before continuing. "Yes, you let your guard down. That was bad. Did that wound hurt?"

"Not as much as Hana's sutures." Hari grumbled.

"Would you quit bitching about that, needle dick?!" Hana shouted in his ear as she swatted the back of his head. "I told you, I'm a vet, not a medic!"

"There you go." Shisui said, ignoring Hana's comment. "Good old-fashioned negative reinforcement. You make your mistakes now when they won't kill you. That way, when we start on actual important missions, you don't make those stupid mistakes!" He finished smiling.

Hari's eyebrow twitched at the word 'stupid' but said nothing.

"So did you figure it out?" Shisui asked.

Hari still didn't say anything but looked at him with a confused expression.

"He asked for mercy. Would you have given it? If you had maintained the upper hand, all three of them at your mercy. Would you have let them go?" He looked to the other two and stood up. "I want you two to ask yourselves that question as well. In our line of work, mercy can be the most beautiful thing in the world. Giving some poor soul a second chance can save you from going mad when the constant bloodshed gets too much. But never forget mercy carries its own risks. That cowardly thug could run and end up making a decent man of himself. Or he could join up with another group and go right on back to terrorising honest folk. Or he could dedicate himself to ruining you like you ruined him, though this outcome is more common with enemy ninja then it is run of the mill bandits, it still happens. In the field, it's up to you to decide who deserves their second chance... and who doesn't."

A sombre atmosphere surrounded Team 4 as they contemplated Shisui's words. That is until that atmosphere was abruptly shattered by Shisui himself. "SO! We've still got a few hours before you three need to see the shrink. Let's get some sparring practice going!"

-(-)-

Five months passed. Five months of training and boring D-rank missions broken up by the occasional boring C-rank mission. It had been an uneventful period in the career of Team 4. Aside from a few brief, one-sided scuffles during said C-rank missions, nothing of note happened. Having already learned Tree Walking under their respective clans' tutelage, the Genin were introduced to the Water Walking exercise – an advanced chakra control exercise that doubled as a method for walking on the surface of a body of water – and eventually reaching the point where they could spar with each other while standing on a lake.

While the chunin exams were approaching, it was a certainty that Team 4 would not be participating. In fact, no Konoha Genin would be participating. The host for the exams this time would be Iwagakure, and no Jonin sensei would be stupid enough to send Genin to a village that was just barely on the outside of hostile. If they tried, they would be dragged to Torture and Interrogation to find out why that Jonin was trying to kill their students.

So since they had a further six months to prepare for their trial to become somewhat respectable ninja, Team 4 were given a chance to take a further step up, mission-wise. Their sensei had told them they were being given a special mission by the Hokage himself. Thus we rejoin the three Genin as they try their best not to look nervous as they sit in the waiting room outside of the Hokage's office.

"Hokage-sama will see you now." The receptionist called dully, prompting Hari to immediately dash towards the close door of the office before hastily checking he looked presentable. _Respectable._

"Man, needle dick! Someone might think you were nervous or something!" Hana laughed as she joined him at a more measured pace, Keika trailing behind.

"Sh-sh-sh! Don't call me that in front of Hokage-sama, okay?" Hari asked, more flustered than his team had ever seen him.

"Aww, does needle dick not like his pet name?"

"IT'S NOT A-" he abruptly cut himself off as soon as he realised he was yelling before continuing in a whisper. "It's not a pet name and it's... you know, not proper to be so informal in front of Hokage-sama so... please, Hana?" Hari asked, pleading in his expressive green eyes.

Hana had to admit he had a point. She sighed before nodding her head half-heartedly and motioning for him to open the door.

Their sensei Shisui Uchiha was waiting for them on the other side, standing at attention in front of the third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, looking uncharacteristically serious. The atmosphere was tense, making the Genin on edge, which wasn't helped by the door they just walked through seemingly shutting of its own will with a heavy thud.

As the Genin looked at the pair of highly accomplished ninja seemingly having a staredown in the middle of the room, Sarutobi's glare snapped in their direction, freezing them in place. That was all that was needed to get the three to line up and stand at attention before bowing respectfully.

They continued to bow. Scared to do anything else.

One second.

Three seconds.

Five.

Sarutobi burst out laughing! A split second later, Shisui couldn't hold it any longer and joined in. "Haha! There really is nothing like teasing the youngsters, is there Shisui-kun?" Sarutobi asked, mirth dancing in his eyes as he moved to sit behind his desk.

"No there isn't, Hokage-sama." Shisui agreed, his trademark smile returning to his features.

As he collected his pipe and tobacco from his desk and set about preparing it, Sarutobi noticed the Genin in the room were still standing at attention by the door. "At ease, Genin." He told them, "You'll have to forgive an old man his eccentricities, I'm afraid. I don't get much time for fun nowadays so I have to take it where I can get it, you understand."

Seeing the Genin relax for the most part and enter the room proper, he continued. "Shall we get down to the details of your mission then?" Seeing the genin look to Shisui first and giving a nod of agreement to him put a small smile on the old man's face. _'Good. They understand chain of command quite well already.'_

Getting Shisui's agreement, Sarutobi started to explain the mission. "This will be a B-rank target acquisition/eradication mission. Here is the identity of the target." The Hokage pulled out a file containing a photograph of a man who looked to be in his early thirties. Long, light brown hair framed a weasel-like face that showed an all too genuine smile. "His name – or at least the one he goes by – is Jitsu Shin. He is a civilian criminal operating in eastern Fire Country as a con artist. His recent string of major successes have earned him the nickname 'Fu' and have also granted him the attention of the Fire Daimyo. Your mission will be to apprehend Jitsu Shin, preferably alive but that is not a requirement as his crimes have been significant enough to see him executed."

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, apprehending a civilian would be a C-rank mission at best." Shisui interrupted as politely as he could.

"That is true. However, it seems that he is somehow quite well informed and is in fact aware he is being targeted. Most likely he has someone working for him in the capital who can warn him in advance. And since he is now a man of some means he can afford to hire protection. _Competent_ protection." Sarutobi stressed.

"Ninja?" Shisui asked.

"Most likely." Sarutobi admitted. "Shin is not a fool. He knows full well a single ninja of any rank is worth at least ten men. We believe he is in hiding until things blow over so he can start his activities again."

"Do we have any leads as to his location?"

"The photograph was taken only a day ago in Zaimoku-gai to the south-east. The man who provided it stated the target was headed north. It's possible he could be headed for the border of Hot Water Country, hoping to eventually reach Lightning Country where our forces can't travel. We currently have good relations with Hot Water and you might be able to petition Yugakure for assistance if you feel it is necessary. However, if Shin gets as far as Frost Country, you are to break off pursuit and the mission will be considered a failure. Understood? Does Team 4 accept this mission?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!" All four members of Team 4 chorused as one.

Sarutobi nodded, satisfied. "Good luck to you. Dismissed."

-(-)-

For this mission, the team packed light. Not even bothering with packs, everything was held in storage seals to allow for faster travel. With full capability of Tree Walking and the added agility training the Genin had been doing, they were able to move at three times their normal speed leaping from tree to tree. Breaks were only allowed for two things: letting the Haimaru triplets catch up to the team (conveniently allowing a brief rest for the Genin who needed it at times) and to stop at a village to see if they could find anyone who had seen the target. It had been a long night and day of travel and they had covered around half the distance to the border of Hot Water.

They had also gotten lucky.

Jitsu Shin may have been a cut above most common criminals, knowing to protect himself well but unfortunately for him he wasn't so sharp that he would avoid comfortable lodgings or drinking establishments so as to keep a low profile. It had been as easy as asking (and occasionally threatening) inn staff about Shin and the team would know they were on the right track.

They wound up entering a village a mere handful of hours before their targets had left. Knowing that the target would stop for the night, they did the same. Starting out again at dawn, they reached the location of the target in the late morning. Early enough to see said target leave the village with an entourage of two men.

Two men wearing headbands that showed a Konoha insignia with a line slashed through it.

A subtle change in body language. Shisui spotted it. He realised they had been made.

"What do we do, Shisui-sensei?" Keika asked quietly after the three men had left hearing range.

"... We give them a head-start. Things could get dangerous so best we do this away from the town."

"Those were Konoha missing-nin." Hari observed.

"Good! We get to take down a crook _and_ a couple of traitors! This mission is great!" Hana exclaimed.

"They're former ANBU." Shisui informed them instantly putting an end to Hana's good mood.

"You recognise them, Shisui-sensei?" Hari asked, hoping for some intel on their opponents.

"Eh, call them friends of a friend."

-(-)-

A/N: And we're moving forward at a faster pace. Team 4 are a somewhat experienced unit out on their first truly dangerous mission. How will they fare? Will they thrive under the pressure? Or will they crumble against their superior opponents?! Tune in next time to find out!

Also, if anyone guesses who these mysterious ninja are, I'll be surprised. Jitsu Shin is an OC. 'Jitsu' and 'Shin' both mean 'truth', 'Shinjitsu' meaning 'sincerity'. So it being a fake name, he basically called himself 'Truthy-Truth the Truly Truthful'. The nickname 'Fu' can be added to 'Shinjitsu' to make 'Fushinjitsu' which means 'insincere'.

Apparently. I mean I don't know a lick of Japanese. This was all worked out with a shitty online translator. But I thought it was fun.

So next chapter we have the confrontation. Then maybe another chapter after that. Then we'll be done with this arc and moving on to the Chunin Exams. Yes, I know where they'll take place. I also know what the second task will be. I haven't pinned down what to do for the first one yet though so if you want to suggest something, I'm all ears. It'll have to be mental rather than physical though. Bear that in mind.

Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

"Are you sure we can handle him Shisui-sensei?" Keika asked timidly as Team 4 watched their targets leave the village.

"I'm certain of it. He was always the weakest of their little team." Shisui assured. "Hari disables the target and I can separate the dangerous one. If you three work together I'm sure you can deal with the last one. Remember, though. He isn't the mission. If it comes down to it, Shin is the priority. Understood? These other two are just a bonus."

-(-)-

Hakui was on edge. He and Doshin had been guarding the fool Jitsu Shin as he made his way to Lightning Country. One would think the con-artist was taking a sightseeing tour rather than going into hiding with how laid back he was. And now they had been found. It seemed the hunters weren't especially skilled, at least. Even the easygoing Doshin had managed to sense their eyes on him.

"We have been discovered, Shin-san." Hakui informed.

"Hah? Well go kill them, then!" The contractor ordered, barely listening, not fully understanding the situation.

"If I do that, you will be unprotected. They would bypass me and attack you directly. The price on your head does not require the rest of your body, Shin-san." Hakui clarified.

"Ah, I... I see." Jitsu Shin stammered, previous bluster forgotten.

"I recommend we-" Hakui began before well honed instincts demanded he block a blow aimed at his heart. That split second decision may have saved his life then but it didn't stop him from being separated from his partenr and the client. "What in the-!" He uttered as he examined his surroundings, realising he had been transported near instantly hundreds of yards away.

"Ahhh! A good block! There's not many with instincts like that walking around!" A cheerful voice spoke. Following the sound Hakui got his first look at his opponent and realised he had a serious problem on his hands.

"Shunshin Shisui (Shisui of the Body Flicker). It is an honour." Hakui said flatly, hiding his trepidation of fighting such an opponent.

"I know, right?" Shisui grinned, Mangekyo Sharingan eyes spinning. "Shame I can't say the same. Not much honour in meeting traitors and all. Still, you blocked my attack so I guess that means I was right in pegging you as the bigger threat! Give me a good fight, okay?" He requested before his grin became more menacing. "Then maybe you can tell me where your beloved 'Shinga-sama' is hiding."

"Shinga-sama is dead." Hakui asserted through gritted teeth.

"Somehow I don't believe you." Shisui answered before vanishing from sight again.

-(-)-

"What the-! Where'd he go?!" Shin shouted at seeing the disappearance of one of his protectors.

"Ah, don't worry about him." Doshin answered without even looking. He was a short man with orange hair wearing a green outfit with an overly large hood. At odds with the concealing nature of the hood, his arms and sides were left bare. "Hakui's a tough guy. These chumps don't stand a chance against-" A pained squeal and thud interrupted him. Turning, Doshin saw his client collapsed in the forest dirt. "-him..."

"I-I can't move! Why can't I move?!" Shin cried.

Swaying to the right, Doshin saw three senbon needles fly past his face. "Might have something to do with those." He theorised unnecessarily as he spotted more of them embedded in the client's arms and legs.

As he was seemingly distracted, Doshin adopted an overly relaxed posture and took three steps backwards just in time to see a brown-haired girl with fang tattoos on her face drop out of a tree onto his previous position. Not giving up on her surprise attack, the girl attempted to engage him in hand to hand, only for the laid-back missing nin to avoid her strikes with ease.

"You must be a genin." Doshin began, continuing to evade without difficulty. "And you weren't the one with the needles since whoever that is," an exaggerated sway let him avoid another projectile, "is still throwing them. That's bad tactics, by the way!" He shouted to whoever the other one was. "Come on! You might hit your teammate! This is academy stuff!"

"He won't hit me." The girl stated with certainty. They'd been a team long enough for her to know he wouldn't throw if he might hit an ally.

"Huh. That's some good trust there. So you're a genin team? I guess it was your sensei who went for Hakui." The girl didn't answer, but it wasn't really a question. "Your team is kind of weird though." Doshin mused. "You don't often see an Inuzuka-"

The missing nin suddenly jumped and landed on the branch of a tree, avoiding the shadow creeping over to him.

"-teamed up with a Nara." He finished, finally spotting the dark-haired boy with glasses from his elevated position. "So is number three gonna jump out at me now?" Doshin questioned.

The worried looks of his attackers meant they didn't need to say a word. They were out of surprises.

"Really? That's boring! Hey, how about we play a little?" he asked, running through a well practiced series of handseals. "Kinjutsu: Doro Ningyo (Forbidden Technique: Mud Golem)!"

On ground level, two forms rose out of the mud and dirt into vaguely humanoid shapes before shifting to form more definitive features. One a girl of no more than eleven years with fang tattoos on her face, the other a boy of no more than ten with pineapple hair and glasses.

-(-)-

It had been less than thirty seconds so far and already Hakui was feeling the strain of fighting such a high level opponent. Maintaining the level of concentration required to defend against attacks you can't even see is exhausting. Several times he had had to concede a minor wound to avoid a potentially fatal strike. And so far a counterattack was out of the question. It was unfortunate and spoke volumes of the gap in power between the two combatants, but Hakui had no choice but to utilise his trump card.

Fighting to escape. That was his only option now. And to hope that Doshin managed the same.

"I surrender!" Hakui shouted, causing Shisui to stop his relentless assault for approximately one and a half seconds before realising the missing nin was obviously lying. However, that brief pause was enough. Retrieving and swallowing his special pill, Hakui's attitude changed abruptly. His long blond hair normally bound into two ponytails frayed out into angry, solid spikes. His skin adopted strange red markings and his normally calm expression changed to something more manic, even feral.

Not wanting to give his enemy a chance to adjust to his – most likely – more powerful abilities, Shisui charged in again with another series of high-speed shunshin attacks. While the calm Hakui had been able to block most of them before, now it seemed he could block all of them. And judging by how he grabbed the Uchiha out of the air, the missing nin could even sense him.

"So eager to come at me..." Hakui spoke in a low growl as he held the imperilled jonin. "I should give you a proper greeting!" he finished with a roar as he launched a fist into Shisui's body. The impact launched him straight into a tree. With what presence of mind Shisui had after such a devastating blow, he attached himself to the tree with chakra so as to keep his distance from the suddenly dangerous missing nin.

_'I don't have time for a real drag-out fight with this guy.'_ Shisui decided. _'If these are the kind of techniques they stole when they turned traitor then those kids might be in real trouble.'_ Course of action decided, Shisui stared at his opponent.

Hakui interpreted it as a glare. "That's a scary look!" He laughed, thoughts of fleeing swept away by the rush of using his stolen and highly experimental enhancement pill. "You must be mad that I broke your fancy move!"

Shifting his gaze down to Hakui's right leg, Shisui ended it. "Raijin (Thunder God)!" He shouted. For one one-thousandth of a second, an arc of red and white lightning leapt from Shisui Uchiha's right eye to just below Hakui's right knee.

Confused, Hakui looked at where he had been hit. "Ow?" He said, confused. It stung a bit but that was about it. That is, until red sparks began erupting from the point of impact and his world erupted in blinding pain. "Auaaaaghhh! AAAAAGH!" Whatever happened rendered his leg useless, leaving him to collapse in an awkward heap. "What... D-did you...?" Hakui breathed through spasms of pain as the sparks began to move upwards towards his thigh.

"Well that doesn't really matter to you, now does it?" Shisui asked rhetorically as he wiped away the blood leaking from his right eye. Another step towards blindness but it was worth it to keep his students safe. Don't worry. I'll stop it before it kills you. Can't have you avoiding your appointment with T&I, can we?"

"I failed you... Shinga-sama..." Hakui whispered before he was knocked out cleanly.

"I was going to use this for the target. But you might be a more important capture in the long run." Shisui said aloud as he pulled out a sealing scroll tailored for sealing living beings. It was designed for transporting the injured but served a second purpose of restraining prisoners.

-(-)-

"Hey, needle dick! Isn't this great?!" Hana exclaimed as she faced a copy of herself with taijutsu.

"We're fighting cheap copies of ourselves for the amusement of some oddball missing nin who is apparently capable of killing us pretty easily." Hari retorted as he attempted to peg his duplicate with senbon and shadow techniques while said duplicate was trying to do the same to him. "Exactly what part of this is great?"

"The part where there's two of me! This is what you've been missing out on by being stingy with that clone technique of yours!"

"I guess you're right." Hari sighed as he finally cornered his double and gave it the same treatment as Jitsu Shin received. "It is kind of entertaining watching you try to kick your own arse."

"Ooh! Look at you finally getting into the witty banter!" Hana smirked. "I think I'm done playing around though." She stated before letting off a sharp whistle. In an instant the Haimaru triplets bounded into the fight and started ripping the fake Hana to pieces. "That's some good work, Ichimaru, Nimaru, Sanmaru!" She congratulated them.

"Huh. You know, I was wondering where your four-legged friend was, Inuzuka." Doshin admitted as he lounged in his tree. Inwardly he was wondering why she didn't save that card until it was needed since she was winning her fight anyway. "Ready for round two?" He asked with a grin as he started to run through handseals again.

"You shouldn't leave your arms exposed like that." A quiet voice spoke from above him. In hindsight he would realise he should have paid more attention to what she said rather than who said it. First came a small stinging pain in his underarms. Then came the discomfort of something moving inside him. Then came six doses of extreme pain in his torso as whatever was crawling around in there exploded. Then came numbness.

And falling out of the tree.

The last thing he heard was the words of the Aburame girl he had never even known was there. "I don't like people who make light of killing."

-(-)-

"Congratulations, Team 4 on a successful mission." The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi as they arrived for debriefing. "Jitsu Shin has been taken into our custody until he can be transported to the capital for his execution. Good work."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." The whole team said as one.

"In addition to the pay for a B-rank mission you are entitled to the bounty on the head of the missing nin Hakui as well as the bonus for retrieving him alive. Furthermore you are entitled to the bounty on Doshin's head. These two could have become much greater threats given time. You should be proud of what you have accomplished on this mission. Dismissed."

-(-)-

A/N: Another somewhat short chapter. But I think this one went well.

Hakui and Doshin along with their master, Shinga, were characters in the filler arc of Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 3 for PSP. They fit quite well at this point in the story.

For those not in the know, Shisui Uchiha was quite famous for his ability to use the Shunshin (Body Flicker) technique used for fast movement in combat. Something impossible without the use of the Sharingan eye to counteract the tunnel vision that comes with the technique.

I may or may not be fudging a couple of details on the use of Sharingan (or more specifically the Mangekyo Sharingan. For this version, each user gets the Izanagi/Izanami techniques and three others that vary between users. So Shisui doesn't have Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu or Susano-o. Instead, he has Kotoamatsukami (canon), Raijin (non-canon, not to be confused with Hiraishin or the Raijin no Ken) and one other that may or may not be revealed. I also do have details on how the Raijin will work and it's no more or less broken than the other Mangekyo techniques (which is to say, yeah it's a bit broken).

After getting this betaed... betad... beta-d... whatever. Slicer decided to inform me how canon says the Mangekyo works. In turn I gave him two examples off the top of my head how that has been directly contradicted in canon events. Well sod it. The legitimate author wants to make it up as he goes? I'm setting up rules and sticking to them.

Think that's it.

Thanks for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

A month passed in the Elemental Nations and it had been a strangely uneventful time. In a land flooded with conflict on both the large and small scale, that conflict had been absent. Naturally there were still the occasional bits of espionage going on behind the scenes, carried out by the ninja capable in that regard. But for those thirty days, the active forces of the Leaf had some down-time. For some it was welcome. For others, particularly the genin, it was a disaster. With little else to do, they were relegated to doing D-rank missions. Glorified chores for the civilians too lazy to do such things themselves.

That was why after the traitor Hakui finally broke after holding out for a respectable twenty-seven days in T&I and gave up the location of his master, Team 4 had begged their sensei to accompany him on the mission to apprehend him. He denied them and was right to do so. Shinga would be too much to deal with for them. They would be more likely to get in the way for that mission. Instead, he chose to bring along the one who had been assigned to apprehend him at the time of his defection. It didn't hurt that said shinobi was a fellow Uchiha and a friend of his.

Eliminating Shinga himself was not a challenge for the two of them. Neither Uchiha was under the delusion of many bloodline users that it made them invincible but two well-wielded Sharingan was more than enough of an advantage to make the fight short and brutally one-sided. Shinga's only remaining subordinates were dead (or may as well be dead. Hakui's information had proven true so he had outlived his usefulness). The man himself was a capable shinobi bout outnumbered and outmatched.

"Oi, Itachi! Can I ask a favour?" Shisui asked out of the blue as the two clansmen made their way back to Konoha.

"Oh? What is it Shisui?" Itachi asked in turn, wary of what it may be considering their current mutual circumstances.

"Well, first what chakra nature are you again?"

Itachi was confused. "You need to ask? All Uchiha are fire natured. Though I am working on attaining a water nature. It is slow going, however."

"Ah, I was afraid of that." Shisui said, looking skyward. "I'm trying to help my team with their elemental training, ya see? Hana is fire like us so she's easy. But the other two... Keika is trickier. Earth. Not many earth users around Konoha."

"I would say not. Her family perhaps?" Itachi suggested.

"Hm. That's what I thought too. Told her to find out if her parents might be able to help her there. No such easy solution for genin number three though." Shisui shrugged.

"The Nara? Hari, was it? Which nature is he?"

"Wind."

"Ah... I see your dilemma." Itachi nodded slightly.

Of the five primary elemental natures, wind was notoriously difficult to find within Konoha. The only natural wind users were Asuma Sarutobi; a jonin currently serving as one of the Twelve Guardian Ninja for the Fire Lord. And Danzo Shimura, who had a... controversial approach to training ninja. Not exactly a first choice. Maybe not even a last choice. Other than those two, Hiruzen Sarutobi was said to have earned a wind nature through training (along with the other four), but it would be unreasonable to expect the Hokage himself to spend his valuable time training one genin.

And that was it. Only three wind users in the entire village capable enough to teach someone else.

"Perhaps you could pay for Hidden Wind to send a tutor?" Itachi suggested, grasping at straws at this point.

"L-let's leave that as a backup plan, eh?" Shisui said, smile weakening at the thought of the price for such a mission. "Well, I figured you were fire anyway so there was another reason I'm asking you. That was more of an outside shot than the actual favour."

"And? What _is_ this favour?" Itachi asked for the second time.

Shisui still didn't answer but his next question explained what it was anyway. "You have a summon contract, right?"

Itachi's eyes widened imperceptibly. "You cannot be serious. That ability is far beyond a genin's capability."

"The kid can handle it." Shisui defended. "I mean he won't be summoning a boss any time soon, that's for sure. But the smaller ones? Sure. He could handle that."

"You seem to have a high opinion of him. Are you certain your attachment to your first team isn't causing you to overestimate them?"

"Not in the slightest."

"And you want me to let Hari sign the crow contract." Itachi surmised.

"No, no... Well, maybe? They'd be good with wind, right? They're birds. It'd be like killing two birds with one stone!"

Itachi stared at Shisui expressionlessly.

"... Okay, poor choice of words. Heheh." Shisui laughed weakly. "But if you're so against it, we could do the other thing. Jiraiya-sama got his contract by summoning without one, right?"

"True. It is also the method with which I acquired the crow contract."

"There ya go! See, this is gonna work out great!"

-(-)-

"Alright, kiddies! We have a guest teacher here today! Give a warm welcome to Itachi!" Shisui exclaimed.

His team were not exactly swept up in his enthusiasm.

"The hell?!" Hana shouted. "He's our age! In fact," she looked between Itachi and Hari standing next to her, "he might even be younger! Hari's taller than he is!"

"He is also a chunin of Konohagakure and therefore outranks you. A little more respect this time, please?" Shisui warned.

Hana frowned but complied. "Sorry, Shisui-sensei, Itachi-san."

"Okay, that's better." Shisui nodded. "Itachi is here for two reasons. Before that, Keika did you find out if any of your family can teach you how to use your earth nature?"

"Kaa-san said she can teach me the basics."

"Excellent!" Shisui exclaimed. _'One problem down.'_ "Right, Hana, you and I will be working some on using your fire nature. Keika, in a little bit, Itachi will be sparring with you in taijutsu. It's your biggest weak spot so we need to get it up to a good standard. First, Hari, how's your chakra?"

"Full. I haven't done anything in particular to deplete it yet today." Hari answered dutifully.

Shisui nodded and moved off to the side as Itachi stepped forward and began to speak. "Now, Hari-kun, you have heard of summons before, yes?"

Hari nodded. "People with contracts for it can summon creatures for assistance. Most of the famous Konoha shinobi have summons."

"That's correct. And the method for acquiring such a contract?"

"Well you would have to get permission form the person who has it already? But then how did they get the contract...?" Hari trailed off, having confused himself.

"Yes, that is one method. It is for that reason that some contracts are passed down through clans and families. Like the Sarutobi and the monkey contract. The other is to get the contract from the summons themselves. Let me demonstrate." With that, Itachi bit his thumb to draw blood and started making hand seals slowly and saying them aloud so that Hari could follow the process. "Boar. Dog. Bird. Monkey. Ram." He recited before slamming his palm in the grass. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"

In a puff of smoke, a small black crow appeared and immediately flew upwards and perched itself on Itachi's shoulder. "I signed the contract for summoning crows. However, the first time I performed the technique I hadn't. Performing the technique without a contract will transport you to the home of your most appropriate animal. If they like you, they might let you sign their contract."

"That's what you'll be doing today, Hari." Shisui explained. "Wind is a seriously rare nature in Konoha and I'm having trouble finding someone who can teach you how to use it properly. So for now we're doing this instead."

The boy seemed a bit dazed from the info dump so Shisui gently snapped him out of it. "OI! You gonna try it or not?!"

"R-right." Hari stammered, staring at the crow that seemed to be watching him. He started running through the hand seals before Itachi stopped him and reminded him it required blood. Nodding, Hari jabbed one of his fingertips with a senbon to draw blood and started over making hand seals. Slamming his hand on the ground he shouted "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" with as much authority as he could manage. Instantly he was replaced by a small cloud of smoke.

Looking around the training field, Shisui commented, "Well that seemed to go okay."

"This was the simple part of the process. Now he will need to convince the summons he is worthy of them. I fear there is nothing we can do about that now." Itachi explained before turning to Keika. "Shall we begi-" before vanishing in a puff of smoke along with the crow on his shoulder.

Confusion was shared among the three still present. "Uhh, Shisui-sensei? Where'd he go?" Hana asked.

"Err..."

-(-)-

Pain. Like his head was bathed in white hot fire. Then blissful unconsciousness.

-(-)-

Itachi adopted a ready stance on arriving at wherever he had been taken. In this case, though, the caution was unnecessary. Looking around himself, Itachi was met with the persistently bleak landscape of Seishimori, home of the crow summons. He had often contemplated why the place seemed so much like another home to him. Perhaps it was the aura of new life that permeated the place in spite of the multitude of ancient dead trees that littered the area. The sense that even in the face of such desolation, something greater could be borne of it and thrive.

"Why have you brought me here?" Itachi asked the crow he spotted in the branches above him. In response it let out a loud "CAW!" and flew off.

"I should have expected as much." Itachi said as he started following the bird. He interpreted another call from the summon to mean 'hurry up' and picked up the pace accordingly. What he found at their intended destination was a surprise but somehow he felt he should have expected it. Just because Shisui could be that good at causing problems.

Propped up against one of the dead trees of Seishimori was Hari, unconscious and blood freely flowing from a fresh wound in his forehead. Rushing over to the boy, Itachi checked him for any other wounds while making sure he was still breathing. "What happened to him?!" Itachi asked the crows gathered in the trees above.

"Caw! We were hoping you could tell us, boy." An older crow missing an eye spoke.

"This one appeared, his forehead burst open and he keeled over." Said another.

"I don't know." Itachi answered as he tried to cleanse and bandage the wound with what medical knowledge he had. "I was teaching him the summoning technique. He attempted it and disappeared. He was fine until now."

"Hmph. You could have run it by us before letting him sign the crow contract." the one-eyed crow said grumpily.

"I didn't." Itachi responded shortly. "He was to be sent to the realm of his most appropriate summon. A lucky coincidence he came here, really." Finishing up bandaging the wound, Itachi stood. "His sensei needs to hear of this. He may know more as to why this happened."

The old crow nodded. "We will send you back. Summon me and I will reverse summon both you and this other here."

"Thank you, Ishigarasu." Itachi said, bowing before disappearing in smoke. Seconds later, the one eyed crow disappeared as well before he, Itachi and Shisui reappeared together at ground level.

"So this is a summon realm..." Shisui observed as he looked around. "It's... nice?"

"Shisui." Itachi called before nodding in Hari's direction.

"Oh, shit Hari!" Shisui exclaimed on seeing his wayward student. Checking his pulse and breathing he asked "What happened?"

"He appeared and his forehead burst open." Ishigarasu stated flatly.

A suspicion entering his mind, Shisui activated his Sharingan. Upon looking at Hari's forehead, the chakra presence that was always there before had disappeared. "It's gone." he whispered, astounded.

"What is gone?" The old crow asked patiently.

Looking from Hari to the talking bird and back again Shisui started to explain. "When he was first brought to Konoha, Hari had a weird second chakra presence centered on the scar on his forehead. Our best experts couldn't explain what it was, let alone remove it. With no other option, we left it alone and it didn't seem to do any harm. It was still there before he attempted the summoning technique."

Ishigarasu's eye narrowed. "Are you telling me you set free a potentially dangerous creature here?"

"Oh, don't jump to conclusions, Ishi-chan." A wizened female voice said, it's owner gliding into view soon after. Even to those unfamiliar with crows, she was clearly very, _very_ old. Her midnight black feathers were fraying and her features were gaunt and sunken, as though she was half-starved. Her most unusual feature, however, was the three legs on which she now stood. "Besides, whatever being dwelled within that scar, it did not arrive here."

"Yatagarasu-sama!" The crow that had spoken once before said reverently before adopting the avian rendition of a bow, many of the other crows doing the same. To Shisui's surprise, Itachi showed the old bird the same amount of respect.

Launching herself forward and landing next to the three humans, Yatagarasu, looked at Itachi. "What is his name again, Itachi-chan?"

"Hari Nara, Yatagarasu-sama." Itachi answered, shocking Shisui again with the amount of respect he showed.

"Hari-chan?" Yatagarasu said as she passed a wing over Hari's face. A split second of contact produced a glow that was visible only to Shisui's eyes. "Time to wake up!"

Hari's eyes fluttered open and he blearily looked around. It took him a moment for his vision to stop swimming but when he did he found himself surrounded by his sensei, Itachi and a whole hell of a lot of crows. Finally noticing the soreness he could feel from his forehead he asked "Did I get something wrong?"

Itachi shook his head. "It seems you and I are two of a kind, Hari-kun." he said before gesturing around him. "Welcome to Seishimori, home of the crows."

-(-)-

A/N: I can't decide exactly how ominous Itachi's last line is.

So this one took far longer than it should have. I was perhaps 200 words away from finishing it for over a week. But it's done now. Hope you enjoyed.

Thanks for reading.


	7. Chapter 7

"Why did no one tell me?" Hari asked quietly.

The last few minutes had involved Hari coming fully to his senses, followed by a brief explanation of why he was injured.

Shisui shrugged. "Until now? It wasn't important. It wasn't affecting you, we couldn't do anything to get rid of it short of killing you. From what we could tell it was just a... thing that had latched on to you but couldn't do anything. We kept a close watch just to be sure but as long as it just sat there it could be ignored while we kept looking for ways to get rid of it." Shisui did _not_ mention half the reason he was Hari's sensei was because he could see the thing's chakra and make sure it wasn't corrupting his student at all. It would do no one any favours to have Hari question his relationship with his teacher.

"You still should have told me. I deserved to know." Hari stated.

Shisui sighed. "Hari, you're making a bigger deal of this than it is. That thing was about as dangerous as a hangnail. A hangnail made of chakra... Okay, bad comparison... Oh! Lice! It was as dangerous as having lice! Just sitting there being annoying until you get a special shampoo!" He exclaimed, glad to have found a 'good' analogy.

Meanwhile Hari was just getting confused and looked to Itachi for help. "I believe he means he is sorry." The stoic boy interpreted.

"That too, I guess." Shisui agreed. "So crows, eh? What do you think, Hari? Think this could work?"

"Ahem." The one-eyed crow spoke before swooping down and perching himself on Itachi's head. "I believe that is for _us_ to determine, Mimic."

"'Mimic'?" Shisui echoed, not sure whether to be insulted.

Itachi sighed having hoped he was done with this annoying part of Ishigarasu's personality already. "Summons tend to have nicknames for special bloodlines. 'Watcher' for the Hyuuga, for example. 'Mimic' is the designated name for the Uchiha and yes, it was intended as an insult, if a mild one." Itachi attempted to glare upwards at the bird. "It took me some time for him to address me as anything other than 'mimic'. _Most_ are polite enough not to use such terms to our faces."

"_Most_ are content to be looked down upon by ningen, Itachi. I have more self-respect than that."

Hari had been following the conversation and had grasped why Shisui's question had irritated the cycloptic crow. So, standing up, he bowed and said "I would be honoured to become a summoner of crows, if you would have me."

"He is respectful, at least." The three-legged crow observed.

"CAW! He is not an imbecile who would insult us after being warned against doing so, Yatagarasu-sama." The one-eyed crow sneered... If one could sneer with a beak. The intent was there at least.

"Even still," Yatagarasu countered, "even if he does see us as 'beneath him' as you are so quick to assume, Ishi-chan. He is still not too proud to bow his head before us. Either he truly respects us, or he is humble enough to _learn_ to respect us." With visible effort, Yatagrasu stretched her wings out wide. "But listen to this old crone go on. Test him as you will. That is why he is here, after all. I wish you luck, Hari-chan!" she said before flying off, all assembled watching her leave as one.

"Ishigarasu, could you take Shisui back to Konoha?" Itachi asked his bird-shaped hat.

"Why?" Shisui asked.

"Hari will be tested to determine if he is worthy of being a summoner of crows. You should not be here for this. Unless you wish to attempt the same." Ishigarasu explained.

"Well..." Shisui said with a thoughtful expression, "summoning crows could be-" he was cut off as Ishigarasu clutched his shoulder and both disappeared in a puff of smoke.

-(-)-

The rest of team 4 were very surprised to see their sensei reappear out of nowhere with a one-eyed crow on his shoulder, said crow uttering a flat "No." and then disappear again, leaving Shisui behind.

"Well that was rude." Shisui muttered before getting back to teaching his students.

-(-)-

"You chose to stay then, Itachi. I take it that means you will be participating in testing the boy." Ishigarasu concluded. "I hope you don't intend to hold back."

"Not at all, Will the testing method be the same as it was for me?" Itachi asked.

The crow nodded slightly before letting out a series of calls with a particular rhythm to them. Upon the third repetition, the other crows joined in. Silence reigned for a moment, before two enormous boulders dropped from the sky.

Boulders with feathers.

And beaks.

And wings.

"Agh, time vas, I coult haf a rest for longer den a century." One complained, rising to reveal itself as a very large raven. "It has not been a year since ve vere last called!"

"Bah!" the other scoffed, rising also. "Like I vill complain of a chance to put you in your place again!"

"Ha! You vould need to! I still haf four vins on you at last count!" the first bragged.

"Three! De fourth vas not a real match as I vas veighed down by-by him!" the second crow complained, gesturing with a wing at Itachi.

"A pleasure to see you too, Muninn. Huginn." Itachi said, looking less at ease than usual.

"Ah! My veighty accomplice! You are vell?!" The now named Huginn bellowed. "Ha! Of course you are! You shoult summon me soon, ja? It has been too long since my last good fight! This sack of lead is no longer vorth my time!"

"Ve vill see how tough you are vhen you don't have a handicap, rälig pantoffel!"

"ENOUGH!" Ishigarasu shouted. "There will be time for your bout later I assure you." The old crow looked at Hari. "These two will be part of your test. They have been feuding for decades and always look for ways to face one another in combat. As such, we give them opportunity. Usually, we would have a prospective summoner attempt to ride one of the two while they go at it. But because we have another summoner right here," he paused, looking at Itachi, "This will be a more straight up match. Simply put, try to knock your opponent, Itachi, off of his mount while he tries to do the same to you. Itachi, since you have built up such a _strong rapport_ with Muninn, you will be riding him again."

"Bah! He has grown but he is still de smaller von this time!" Muninn cheered. "Ve vill vin this!"

"Better you have the smaller von!" Huginn jeered. "Leave de heavy lifting to the strong, ja? Hahaha!"

"So... I need to ride him?" Hari asked the old crow, pointing at the preening Huginn.

"Indeed. And attempt to dislodge Itachi from Muninn. Try not to fail too quickly." Ishigarasu answered dismissively.

_'Okay. I can do this. It is just like riding... a giant raven. And absolutely nothing else. No! Positive thoughts! If I stick myself to him with chakra I should be able to hold on. That's a good plan, right?'_ Hari thought to himself as he stood in front of the enormous avian and climbed onto his back.

"You are secure, ja?" the huge bird asked him.

"Ja- I mean, yes.", Hari answered, testing his 'grip' and finding it satisfactory... for standing still on the ground at least. In the air might be a different story entirely.

"Good. Ve are ready over here!" Huginn shouted at Ishigarasu, only around ten feet away from him. "Do not lose this for me, ja? Ve vill be havink strong vords if you fall."

"Ve are ready also!" Muninn shouted from around twenty yards away.

"Begin." Ishigarasu stated without preamble.

Immediately Huginn and Hari took off, high into the sky, Hari having a much easier time hanging on than he had expected. Was Huginn that smooth of a flyer? It didn't matter. What was important was finding a way to remove Itachi from Muninn.

Itachi was not going to wait for that, however, and had planned on ending this duel quickly. Muninn had stayed low to the ground and steady to not distract Itachi's focus. Speeding through handseals, ending on tiger, he stated calmly, "Hósenka no Jutsu (Phoenix Flower Technique)!" and released several small fireballs that swooped unerringly after their adversary, forcing them to dodge.

Huginn showed superb agility in dodging the fireballs, tricking several of them into crashing into trees as he flew around them. Meanwhile Hari was struggling to maintain his balance but gaining aptitude and confidence at an astonishing rate. Further with every high-speed banking turn, he found himself enjoying his 'test' more and more. "This is amazing!" He breathed.

"HA! This is nothink! This is SLOW! Are ve done 'varming up' as they say?" Huginn asked with mirth.

"I think I have the hang of this." Hari grinned. "Don't hold back on my account. Just give me a shot and I'll take it."

"A counter-attack, ja?"

Hari laughed aloud. "JA!"

Meanwhile, Itachi and Muninn had vacated their low altitude and moved closer to the treetops, searching for their hiding adversary. "He seems a better flyer than you, Itachi." Muninn observed.

"He is wind natured. Perhaps that has something to do with it. But we have experience on him. We can still win this." Itachi assured. "They cannot catch us by surprise. We simply take them down when they reappear."

A non-committal hum was Muninn's response before both of their attentions were taken by a loud exclamation of "JA!" from somewhere to the east.

"Go." Itachi ordered, already moving through handseals and Muninn took off.

It wasn't long before they came upon Hari and Huginn. Perhaps because the pair were no longer running – or flying – and hiding anymore. Huginn had a determined glint in his beady black eyes and Hari...

Hari was _standing._

Sure enough, smile on his face, half grin, half smirk, Hari was standing on Huginn's back, feet braced in a stance to maintain his balance. And making handseals.

_'What techniques could he be using?'_ Itachi tried to determine. _'The Nara techniques won't work for him at this speed. He doesn't know any element techniques. Perhaps a feint? But Shisui was confident about his students... Not worth the risk.'_ "Hósenka no Jutsu (Phoenix Flower Jutsu)! Bank left! " Another volley of fireballs headed for Hari and Huginn as Itachi and Muninn swerved away and started dodging through trees.

"They are trying to get behind us." Huginn observed as he repeated his dodging routine.

"... Let them." Hari ordered.

"Vat?" Huginn questioned.

"Let them. It's my best chance to get a clean shot." Hari clarified.

"You had best be right."

"Ve are nearly on them! Be ready for your moment!" Muninn shouted.

"Always." Itachi answered as Muninn rounded a tree to see the back of Huginn and Hari, landing on the third handseal of his technique however, he was surprised once again. Hari had gripped the nape of Huginn's neck and used it as leverage to spin himself around, drop to one knee and somehow not fall off of his mount. His left arm moved to his now raised right arm and Itachi realised this was Hari's plan from the moment he had made those random handseals that hindsight told him were indeed a feint.

Itachi could drop his technique, get a proper grip and get Muninn to dodge and hope Hari wasn't good enough to hit him like that, or finish his technique and hope Hari was an absolutely piss poor shot. Either way, Hari had passed as far as Itachi was concerned.

_'Well, if that is the case, might as well push myself as well.'_ Itachi decided. "Dive!" Itachi ordered without stopping his string of handseals. Not having the seemingly impossible talent for flight that Hari had, Itachi found himself swaying back dangerously as Muninn dived towards the ground.

A target, wide-open.

A senbon lodged itself in Itachi's forearm, ruining the preparation for his technique. He could push passed the pain, but the muscles controlling his fingers were hit, limiting his range of movement. Another in his lower thigh and a third in his left shoulder completed the volley.

Huginn had also dived to meet them, Hari still kneeling as though it was the most comfortable he had ever been. Arm still raised to pepper him with more senbon if need be.

Itachi nodded solemnly and smiled slightly. "Land, Muninn. We are defeated."

"Coward! You still ride! It is not over until ve are separate!" Muninn challenged.

"No. It is over. Should he choose to, Hari could end this in a much more permanent fashion. I could only defeat him by removing myself from you, thus we would lose regardless."

"I could still-!"

"Accept it with dignity. As you say, you will defeat him. Next time." Itachi said.

Muninn growled in response before flying low to the ground and landing. "Next time."

-(-)-

"He did well." Itachi told his familiar after removing himself from Muninn. Hari and Huginn were still flying around, enjoying themselves.

"I may have... underestimated him slightly." Ishigarasu admitted. "So he will sign the contract. Any thoughts on a familiar for him?"

"I think he would be overjoyed to have a partner like Huginn. He is a natural in the air." Itachi thought aloud.

"Mm. Not an easy thing. Huginn isn't the familiar 'type'. And great ravens like Huginn don't come around very often. There are a couple of younger ones but... well, they're not fully grown." the one-eyed crow admitted.

"Neither is Hari." Itachi pointed out. "And I don't think he would mind provided he could fly with Huginn once in a while in the meantime."

-(-)-

"Crows are _awesome_!" Hari exclaimed as Huginn came in for a landing. Dropping from the large raven's back, Hari took a step and immediately fell flat on his face. "Right. Solid ground. Not moving. Need to get used to that again. Still! Crows! I love crows! Did you see us up there with the ducking and dodging through trees and when I did that spin move on Huginn's back?! I don't even know how I did that!"

"Sounds like you had fun, Hari." Itachi said calmly but not unkindly.

"Right?!" Hari started again before suddenly realising he was acting like a... well like a ten year old. And reined himself in. "So what now?" Hari asked.

Presenting Hari with an old scroll with many names on it, Ishigarasu pointed at the bottom. "Sign here. In blood. And add your fingerprints next to it." Once he was satisfied Hari had done so, Ishigarasu took the scroll and it disappeared into smoke. "Congratulations. You are the newest crow summoner."

At that moment, a raven fluttered from the trees and landed on Hari's left shoulder. "This the one, Ishi-jiji?" it asked before pecking at Hari's face. "Doesn't look like much."

"And allow me to introduce you to... Kuu. He will be your familiar." Ishigarasu said patiently.

"My what?" Hari asked.

"Your familiar." Itachi repeated. "Think of him like your main partner among the crows. Ishigarasu is mine. As your familiar, he will be easier to summon and can in turn, reverse-summon you to Seishimori if need be."

"But..." Hari began, looking at Huginn before sighing. "Yes. Thank you."

"Do not vorry!" Huginn said jovially. "He may look dinky now, but he is great raven like me! Ve just... start small. Ve are growers, not showers, yes?" He asked before laughing. Harry had a feeling a joke just flew right over his head. "And you can still come visit me and ve can fly until he grows big!"

Hari looked much more happy for hearing that, even going so far as to try and pet Kuu on the head.

To which Kuu responded by biting his finger.

"Well... They're getting along about as well as we did in the beginning." Ishigamaru observed, Itachi nodding in agreement.

-(-)-

A/N: Man. That was a fun chapter to write once I got into it. We're suffering through a heat wave here at the moment and it's sapping my will to do anything beyond sleeping. But yeah. Fun fun fun!

I hope I made it clear why Hari won that little air battle. Hari is a natural flyer. Itachi is very much not. Manoeuvrability is key in an air battle and Muninn had to hold himself back a great deal to let Itachi maintain his balance. Huginn didn't have that handicap. Anything Itachi had, Hari and Huginn could dodge.

The thing with summons having names for bloodlines is obviously not in canon. Just some flavour I felt like adding while I was writing. Also, I'll mention I don't consider dual element affinities (ice, wood, boil, magnet, etc) to be a bloodline. It's implied such things can be learned which means they just have a particularly rare innate affinity. Thus, summons don't give them names. When I say bloodlines I mean the weirder ones. Sharingan, Byakugan, Kimimaro's bone thingy and so on.

This was the last chapter before we get into the chunin exams. Hey, would you like to know who else participated in a chunin exam around this time? Feel free to leave your guess in a review.

Also if anyone could explain why canon calls them 'bloodline limits' that'd be great. Never made sense to me.

Thanks for reading.


	8. Chapter 8

Water Country. Of the five great nations among the elemental nations, it was technically the smallest. Technically because, while Water covered a larger surface area than Earth for certain, it held the least amount of actual land. Water Country was a cluster of dozens of islands varying in size from 100m2 to approximately 5km2.

Like Wind and Earth, Water was one of the countries that was infuriatingly difficult to invade. A rival power could land on some outlying islands, say 'I claim this land in the name of my nation!' and Water would do nothing. The invaders would continue onward and suddenly find themselves confronted with the Water navy. The invaders would be no match for them in their natural element and the conflict would end. The invading army would retreat to their own territory (Lightning, Fire or possibly Hot Water, the closest nations) only to find out weeks later that the new colonies they had established on those islands had been quickly and cleanly reabsorbed into Water Country. There had been many attempts but save for one incident involving an island on the back of a giant turtle taken by Lightning, they had all ended the same way. The invaders routed and Water gleefully taking the resources spent on the occupation.

Why is this important? It isn't, really. But learning a little history never hurt anyone.

Still, as things stand for the intrepid ninja of Team 4, Water Country or more specifically their hidden village of Kirigakure is _very_ important. If only as the hosts of the next Chunin Exam, in which they would be participating. Though not anywhere near as bad as Iwagakure, Kiri or 'Mist' hosting the exam was a cause for concern. Rumours of recent events were... worrying.

Team 4 weren't the only team from Konoha to participate. There were several other teams going along. One containing a boy with a pompadour haircut, another boy with a highly visible scar across the bridge of his nose and a girl with unusually large hoop earrings. Another had a boy with a bandage covering his nose, another with hair covering one eye and a girl who had stripes shaved out of her very short hair. Accompanying all teams were their sensei, ensuring nothing untoward happened to them while they were in not-so-friendly territory. Six teams of Suna ninja were also travelling with them, the two villages being allies and the overland route through Fire Country being more reasonable than a long sea voyage from Suna in the west to Kiri in the east.

On the ship bound for Mist, Shisui had a few last words of wisdom for his team. "This is it." He began. "This is going to be one of the last times I can speak to you three freely before we get to Mist. Instructions for exam protocol explicitly stated that after arriving I can only watch over you and not interfere in the exams in any way. So here's my last minute advice for you three."

"_Stick together."_

"I mean it." He continued, looking each of them in the eye. "Konoha might focus on teamwork more than any other village but there is a damn good reason for that. You three are stronger together than you are individually. That's even more true when it comes to the other Konoha teams. Traditionally the exams end with one-on-one fights but before that? Watch each other's backs and you'll have a better chance of making it to the big finish."

"You're young." Shisui started to wrap up with a well hidden grimace. "Some might even consider you green. But I know you three are ready for this. Show them your strength, your ingenuity. Show them your Will of Fire."

-(-)-

You could be forgiven for believing a hidden village would actually be hidden. Some of them were. Takigakure was in fact famous for being impossible to find without guidance. Yugakure really could be mistaken for a particularly large onsen if you weren't paying attention. Such villages were in the minority however. Konoha had forty foot tall gates as an entrance and giant faces carved in a cliff, Suna was 'concealed' by a dome shaped structure of sandstone and Kumo sat clearly visible on top of a mountain.

In fairness, once a certain level of power and prestige is reached, it becomes less reasonable to attempt to be a truly 'hidden' village. Such was the case with Kiri. Situated towards the centre of Water Country territory on the third largest island, the location of Kiri had been known to the other nations for decades. Thus when the idea of using chunin exams came up to prolong the peace they were enjoying, no one really cared that they would take place in the major hidden villages. Everyone knew where they were anyway.

After a somewhat terse welcome from the gate guards, the dozens of Konoha ninja and Suna ninja were guided to what would be their accommodations for the duration of their stay. They had found that they were the last participants to arrive, the short voyage through Water needing the least margin for error and allowing them to spend as little time as possible in Kiri. Some were more glad of this than others.

"Shisui Uchiha." A weathered but strong voice spoke.

Team 4 had been exploring Mist before settling down in their lodgings for the night. It hadn't been a comfortable experience with the Mist ANBU watching their every move. The students had been browsing the wares of a weapons merchant when the sound of their teacher's name brought their attention to the confrontation developing in the street.

Looking out into the street, the three saw their teacher Shisui standing there, facing off with a Mist nin. He had the appearance of a young man but still held the air of a veteran shinobi. His blue hair was styled directly upwards and his left eye was covered by an eyepatch.

"Ao." Shisui responded to his apparent adversary.

"They're not going to fight, are they?" Keika asked uncertainly. "Attacking foreign ninja during the Chunin Exams is an act of war!"

"Hari, what do we do?" Hana asked, foregoing her 'affectionate' nickname for the serious situation.

"We be ready." Hari answered. "Shisui-sensei can handle himself but if this turns ugly, it could turn _very_ ugly. Hana, where are the triplets?"

"At the hotel. I was ordered to keep 'em there until the second stage of the exams." Hana answered.

Outside, Ao was chuckling, a coarse sound. "Those would be your students I'm hearing then? Not got the hang of silent communication yet?"

Shisui shrugged. "They're panicking a little. They think you're gonna attack me. Since that'd start a war we would instantly be labelled 'invaders'. From that moment, we'd be fighting for our lives to escape. Really, they're doing a good job keeping their heads for genin." He adopted an easy smile and a raised eyebrow. "So... Were you planning on attacking me?"

Ao answered the question with another question. "Any of them bloodline users?"

Shisui narrowed his eyes. "The Leaf aren't stupid. The only bloodline users they would send are the ones that know very well how to take care of themselves."

Ao chuckled again. "That's a good policy. A wise policy. Well, since you answered my question, I'll answer yours. No, I have no grudge against you. You let me go with my prize, after all.", he said, tapping his eyepatch. "Heh! No, you and yours are safe from me. In fact I have some advice for you, favour for a favour and all. Sleep with one of your magic eyes open. Safer that way, eh?"

"I leave you your life and your idea of paying me back is telling me 'be careful'? Not exactly equal value there." Shisui pointed out.

"What can I say? I'm cheap!" Ao laughed before vanishing in a cloud of mist.

"I hate that guy." Shisui muttered.

-(-)-

The tension in the exam hall was high. Those who thought it might be a written exam were immediately disabused of that notion by the lack of desks in the exam hall. Or chairs. Or furniture of any kind, really. The hall was just an enormous domed room in the Mist ninja academy. The windows and doors all had enormous metal shutters over them that looked sturdy enough to keep a small army out.

Or in. More than a few of the foreign genin had an inkling that they were standing in the venue for the graduation exam that got Mist it's nickname. The Bloody Mist.

"Welcome one and all," A female voice sounded from the front of the room, all of the genin turning to look, "to the first round of the chunin exam."

The examiner herself was short in stature with long red hair tied in a... complicated hairstyle, tied in hanging loops on either side of her head so that the ends were pointing upwards. She did not look eager to be the one running the exam.

"Let's get this over with. Pair up." She ordered. The moment the genin in the hall had paired up to her satisfaction she started explaining the rules. "Alright. The person you paired up with is your partner for this exam. No switching. Your goal is simple."

"Get your partner to drop out of the exam."

Reactions were mixed. Some were regretting their choice of pairing with a person of their own village. Others were feeling pleased with their judgement. One Iwa nin was very happy with his choice to pair with the tiny, purple-clad Leaf kunoichi.

"This exam will last one hour. Let me be clear." The proctor continued, voice hardening. "No killing. No maiming. Your partner must come out of this exam _whole_ and _conscious_ and drop out _of their own will_. Is that clear? If your partner dies, you not only fail the exam, you also forfeit the protection these exams provide and may find yourselves at the mercy of your victim's comrades."

The aforementioned Iwa nin frowned as several other Leaf nins turned in his direction making very clear what would happen if he broke that rule.

"Anyone not understand the rules?"

"What if neither of us submits?" One Sand nin asked.

"Then you both fail. Your time starts when the walls and ceiling are up. Chunin! Begin construction!" she shouted.

Around a dozen chunin previously standing at attention along the walls sprang into action. Running through handseals and simultaneously shouting, "Doton: Doryuheki! (Earth Release: Earth-style Wall!)"

Walls immediately rose from the earth to separate every pair into their own small rooms. After the walls were up, six of the twelve chunin repeated the technique to create a ceiling over the whole structure.

The exam had begun.

-(-)-

"So..."

"Yeah..."

"We played right into their hands, didn't we."

"Yeah..."

Hari and Hana looked at each other before squatting at opposite ends of their room.

-(-)-

"It's my lucky day! Lucky lucky lucky!" The bald Iwa nin began singing before abruptly stopping to glare at his adversary. Ever since his first kill his killing intent had always been heavy and he held no doubts that he had already passed this exam.

Keika, for her part, was certainly affected. She couldn't stop her legs from quaking and moving was out of the question, let alone attacking him.

How convenient for her that she had already made the only move she needed to.

"It would be in your best interests to give up now, little boy." The Iwa nin said dismissively but not joking in the slightest. "I don't need to kill or maim you to make you suffer more than you ever dreamed."

"I'm a girl." Keika said quietly.

"Huh?" The older and larger opponent uttered his killing intent wavering with his mild confusion.

"I'm not a boy. I'm a girl." Keika repeated, gaining confidence as she talked. "And if this becomes a fight, you've already lost."

"Huh?" The teen asked again, before dismissing what she was saying as a bluff. "Fine. We'll do this the hard w-What the hell is that?" He asked as a glowing light darted in front of his face.

"Do you like my special kikaichu? They're the best friends I could ever ask for. They would do anything for their colony and they would do anything for me. Even die." Keika explained calmly, smiling. "What you're looking at is one of six. The other five snuck their way under your clothes while my comrades were giving you the evil eye." She giggled. "I'm glad to have so many people who care so much about me!"

Her 'partner' flinched as he felt stinging pains at his extremities. Keika started speaking again. "Sorry. I got distracted. What you just felt was my special kikaichu burrowing under your skin. From there, they can travel wherever they like. Now, the rules say I can't kill you but... What was it you said before? 'I don't need to kill you to make you suffer more than you ever dreamed.'"

"You're bluffing." The Iwa nin challenged, swatting the glowing bug out of the air.

"Am I?" She asked innocently. "Okay. Hands." she said, her opponent immediately feeling two somethings moving down his arms towards his hands. "Feet." Again, two more somethings heading downwards, stopping at his ankles. "One more. One more... Where should he go... Oh! I know!" she exclaimed as she moved closer. Dodging a clumsy attempt to grab at her, Keika whispered in his ear. "Nether regions!"

He immediately backed off to he wall as he felt the last something move towards a place he was very uncomfortable with. "Y-You're still bluffing! Even if they did what you said it would count as maiming! You'd still fail!"

"You're mistaken." She answered with a smile. "Their detonations are very small. If I wanted to permanently cripple you I could. But where they are now, any injuries will be treatable. You won't be walking for a while, someone will have to wipe for you and Little Rocky won't be coming out to play, but it's recoverable. That's the point, see? The proctor said 'permanently'. So! Would you like Little Rocky out of commission for one month?" he felt a shift. "_Two_ months?" Another shift. "_Three_-"

"I FORFEIT! I'M OUT! _GET ME OUT OF HERE AND GET THESE THINGS OUT OF ME!_"

The ceiling opened and the terrified Iwa nin scrambled his way out of the enclosure. He felt a series of familiar flares of pain and saw five more of the bugs float lazily around him before detonating with small 'POP' sounds.

"Good luck in six months!" Keika called after him as he stormed out of the hall.

-(-)-

"How long has it been?" Hana asked for the third time.

"About forty minutes." Hari answered.

Hana sighed. "There's no point in us both failing, Hari. I know you were trying to find a loophole or something but we're running out of time. And I don't think they'd let you get away with it here."

"Yes? And we both know we both want to pass. What do you suggest?" Hari asked, sullen.

"We could fight for it!" Hana suggested.

"You without your dogs in an enclosed space and nothing to hide behind?" He held a rat seal and channelled some chakra. "You've already lost. I don't want to pass because you were at a ridiculous disadvantage." He stated, releasing the technique.

"Well then if we run out of time then I won't give you the choice!" Hana shouted.

"If that's your attitude why don't you just quit right now?!" Hari shouted back.

"Because _somebody_ wanted it to be fair!" Hana said before turning her back on him. Taking a deep breath she tried again. "What about janken?"

"What?" Hari laughed with a raised eyebrow.

"What's wrong with it? It's fair, right? One winner. One loser. No 'ridiculous disadvantage'." She said, mimicking his voice.

Hari slowly nodded his head as he came around to the idea. "Okay... If you're fine with it I can't complain."

Both stood in the middle of their enclosure facing each other.

"Saisho wa guu..." they said together.

"Janken PON!"

Hari chose paper.

Hana chose paper.

"Aiko desho!"

Hari chose scissors.

Hana chose paper.

Hari started to look up but was interrupted by Hana tackling him with a hug. "Kick some ass for me, Needle Dick." She whispered before looking at the ceiling.

"I submit!"

-(-)-

**Keika Kyuuzou: B-rank experimental hijutsu. This technique involves the use of a special, modified breed of the Aburame kikaichu designated 'Kyuuzou Kikaichu' designed specifically for a single purpose: detonation. A queen capable of birthing Kyuuzou can birth three every three days, the colony capable of holding only six at one time. A sac of combustible fluid situated below the thorax allows the Kyuuzou to become the centre of a small explosion. Combined with their burrowing abilities they can cripple creatures one-hundred times their size to protect their colony. After leaving the colony, the Kyuuzou are guided by the Aburame via the queen to their target, at which point a signal is sent that detonates all Kyuuzou in range. A Kyuuzou that has left the colony is short-lived, lasting minutes at most before its sac ruptures and it detonates.**

-(-)-

A/N: Hari vs Hana was as fair as in the chapter. I flipped a coin. Hari won. You have only my word on that but it's true. If Hana won I probably would've skipped the rest of the exams.

So I added the ins and outs of the Keika Kyuuzou technique there. Feels like I should have done it earlier but whatevs. It'll be important next chapter.

Thanks for reading.


End file.
